Discussion Topic:
Portraits and Photography Portraits and Photography
Prior to the invention of photography, portrait painting was reserved for royalty, the wealthy, or important members of society because it was expensive and required a lot of time.
Photography opened up the possibilities for the average person to capture their likeness in a portrait. Portraits both painted and photographed capture not only the likeness of the sitter, but may also reveal something of the sitter’s personality. Examine the paintings, sculpture and photographs below.
Tomika Te Mutu of Coromandel, Maori chief, New Zealand, nineteenth Century
Michelangelo Buonarroti, David, Italy, 1501-1504
Male Torso (Ancestor figure), Baule, Africa, c. nineteenth-twentieth centuries
Mariko Mori, Star Doll, Japan, 1998
Rembrandt Van Rijn, Self-Portrait, Netherlands, 1669
Lucien Freud, Leigh under the Skylight, Britain, 1994
Nancy Burson, Untitled image from Faces, United States, 1992
Chuck Close, Fanny (Fingerpainting), United States, 1985
Vincent Van Gogh, Portrait of Dr. Gachet, Netherlands, 1890.
Shimomura Kanzan, Study for the Portrait of Okakura Tenshin, Japan, 1922.
Nefertiti, Egypt, c. 1350 BCE
Choose at least 3 of these portraits. What do these images say about each of the subjects? Give examples.
How did portraits change during the 20th century?
How did they change since the invention of the smart phone in the 21st century?
